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The Pardee RAND Graduate School (PRGS.edu) is the largest public policy Ph.D. program in the nation and the only program based at an independent public policy research organization—the RAND Corporation.

Student Spotlight

Welcome to the RAND Drug Policy Research Center

Providing decisionmakers with rigorous, nonpartisan research on substance use and drug policy

Since 1989, the RAND Drug Policy Research Center has conducted
research to help decisionmakers in the United States and throughout the
world address issues involving alcohol and other drugs. In doing so, the Center
brings an objective and data-driven perspective to this often emotional
and fractious policy arena.

From the RAND Blog

California and a handful of other states will probably vote on legal pot in 2016. Whether it passes will depend on the quality of the proposal, how much money is involved in the campaigns, and how things play out in Colorado, Washington, and other places that have legalized production and sales.

CVS has officially stopped selling cigarettes and other tobacco products, a move that will cost the pharmacy chain about $2 billion in annual profits. It's difficult to say if this will affect smoking. For now, the ban is most significant for what it represents symbolically.

Due to budget concerns the federal government just shut down a critical data source that provides insights into abuse, dependence on, and spending on heroin and other hard drugs like crack and methamphetamine.

Featured Projects

Motivational Interviewing and Culture for Urban Native American Youth (MICUNAY) — The goal of this project is to develop a cultural intervention that also addresses substance use for Native American adolescents. Researchers will work with elders and providers in the community and test the material with youth in two sites, L.A. and Oakland.

International Alcohol Policy Model — We propose a five-year project in which a unique team of international experts and organizations constructs an alcohol policy computer micro-simulation platform.

Evaluating South Dakota's 24/7 Sobriety Program — This study proposes a rigorous evaluation of a large-scale and innovative program in South Dakota that has received significant attention as a successful approach to reducing alcohol consumption in community corrections settings. South Dakota's 24/7 Sobriety Program (24/7) requires that offenders submit to breathalyzer tests twice per day. Those testing positive or missing a test face an immediate, but brief, jail term. Since 2005 there have been more than 25,000 participants and our calculations suggest participation rates of at least 5% among all males aged 22-40.

An Experience-Sampling Study of Exposure to Alcohol Marketing and Youth Drinking — Using a longitudinal design, we will follow a cohort of 750 youth recruited in Los Angeles-area middle schools for two years.

Implementation of Medical Marijuana and Its Impact on Health — Few studies have considered how medical marijuana policies affect recreational marijuana use or individual and public health outcomes, and the few published quantitative studies on the topic find disparate results. This NIH/NIDA-funded project will systematically code medical marijuana policies at the state level into a database, paying careful attention to issues related to access and supply. The data, once completed, will be made available to other researchers.

Treating Depression in People with Substance Abuse Problems — Building Recovery by Improving Goals, Habits, and Thoughts (BRIGHT) is a group cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, to treat depression in people with substance abuse problems.

Evaluating the Efficacy of Social Impact Bonds to Reduce Criminal Recidivism — RAND Europe has been commissioned to evaluate the development, implementation and operation of this first ever Social Impact Bond.

Researcher Spotlight

Director, RAND Institute for Civil Justice

Paul Heaton is a senior economist at the RAND Corporation, director of the RAND Institute for Civil Justice (ICJ), and a professor in the Pardee RAND Graduate School. Much of his research aims to apply methodological insights from economics to inform issues in legal and criminal justice policy.…

Hot Topic

The RAND Drug Policy Research Center has provided objective analysis and research to decisionmakers for over 20 years. This page collects DPRC's pertinent published articles and studies, presenting unbiased information for those making decisions about marijuana policy.

DPRC in the News

A selection of news reporting on critical RAND Drug Policy Research Center research and commentary.

DPRC Menu

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